Bodybuilding - Exercises and Supplements

This is a discussion on Bodybuilding - Exercises and Supplements within Shifting gears, part of the Around the Corner category; Originally Posted by Samurai
I prefer to believe Smart BMI. It even considers age and diet. According to that, my ...

I am 28 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weigh 55 KGs approx. I have tried to gain weight in the past for quite some time however was always unsuccessful and then lost the hope for last 3-4 years. I had a very heavy diet as compared to people around me however could never gain weight. My weight has always between 50 - 60 Kgs. Have never been able to achieve anything above 60 KGs. Could you all please suggest what should I do to gain weight. I am not into bodybuilding. But i want to gain weight because I look too skinny.

I am 28 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weigh 55 KGs approx. I have tried to gain weight in the past for quite some time however was always unsuccessful and then lost the hope for last 3-4 years. I had a very heavy diet as compared to people around me however could never gain weight. My weight has always between 50 - 60 Kgs. Have never been able to achieve anything above 60 KGs. Could you all please suggest what should I do to gain weight. I am not into bodybuilding. But i want to gain weight because I look too skinny.

How I wish I had your problem! If you are not "into bodybuilding" and just want to gain weight, that's the easiest thing in the world - just eat a lot, if that doesn't work then eat even more, just eat a lot of donuts, cake and ice cream five times a day .

Jokes apart. Whether you are an ectomorph or endomorph, you will gain weight if you are in a calorie excess. I suggest determine your body fat percentage, based on that calculate your TDEE (Use the muscleforlife TDEE calculator), and just eat in excess of that consistently. I would suggest add workout to that three times a week and you will put on both muscle and fat over time. You can see good progress in six months, in a 500 calorie excess. If you want a slower (and leaner) weight gain, go for a 300 calorie excess. I would suggest a 40%-30%-30% (carb-protein-fat) split. You need those carbs for size. Maybe even bump up carbs to 45% and reduce fat to 25%, but play with it over a few weeks. On a bulk, make sure you account for your workout calories when you determine your intake for the day (versus on a cut don't do that). Review every 3 weeks, if you're not seeing a weight change (or not seeing enough) then bump up the calories. Rinse and repeat.

From what I have read and my instructor advises, raising heels (either in the air or with something under them) is not recommended while squatting. Or is that just a urban (gym) legend?

Lots of people can't but raise their heels while squatting. It has to do with flexibility. Earlier when people used Indian type commode, that flexibility was developed from childhood. But with European type commode, most tend to lose the flexibility at the ankle, and can't keep it flat while squatting.

If you visit villages, you can see folks sitting around in squatting position while having tea or smoke or eating or even working. They can totally relax in that position. But most city dwellers will fall back if they try to land their heal while squatting.

True. This is a common problem faced by people who are new to squatting, with or without weights. Some others are knees collapsing inwards and/or going in front of their toes when they break parallel. That's why the leg press machine has a queue for using it, while the squat rack is almost always free

Regarding the point about pullsups - does it even matter?
Unless you are into bodybuilding.
For bodybuilding purpose - it is better to NOT hang. Because the lats are already quite fully stretched even at the lower middle position. Any lower, and you will need to "shrug up" = move your ribcage up. Thus stretching other muscles also. Besides, stretching the muscles makes it easier to "bounce back" up using the stored elastic energy in the muscles and tendons.

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For the sole purpose of full pullups as a movement only, I am inclined to believe that only when one pulls up from the lowest hanging position should it be called a pullup. Though this is not necessarily better (for bodybuilding purpose) than "partial" as explained above

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Originally Posted by rajushank84

Thanks! I'm trying to figure out how far I can go to get fully lean. Problem is, the midsection fat seems to be so dense I have a feeling it will take a year or more to see any progress there. I'm just going to keep at it and see how it goes.

Yeah, everyone has a different distribution of fat. It is tought to aim for washboard abs when the body's tendency is to store maximum fat on midsection. :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

From what I have read and my instructor advises, raising heels (either in the air or with something under them) is not recommended while squatting. Or is that just a urban (gym) legend?

Cheers,
Vikram

It appears to be urban legend.
Two words: Hindu squat.

More detailed response: Why would someone raise his heels while squatting? Usually because of less flexible achilles tendon that doesn't allow the knees to travel further ahead while squatting down thus making the exercise a good morning instead of simple up and down. We usually don't want this (good morning) because we want large quads ... and thus use block to raise the heels.

Oh but wait, we already have something similar being done by wreslters for ages now. Enter Hindu squats. So are they really problematic?

Because the knees joint is less sturdy than the hip joint. And some people pressed the panic button without realizing that:
a) the knee joint structure is quite capable of handling stresses in excess of what quadriceps muscles can lift
b) any muscles is very vulnerable at the extreme stretch position
c) any physical activity/exercise leads to increased risk of injuries (even getting up from sleep can cause back problems)

So if one wants to do hindu squat or raised heels squat - then as a precautionary risk measure don't drop down to lowest position and don't bounce out. Have control while descending and reverse the movement before approaching the point of extreme stretch.

Honestly speaking, if keeping bodyfat low is not an aim in itself one should only be worries about internal measurements like blood pressure, blood glucose, insulin levels, cholestrol etc

I don't pop a single pill unless it is for fever or allergies, even that is like once a year situation. Same goes for doctors, haven't seen one for ages.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpha1

Regarding the point about pullsups - does it even matter?
Unless you are into bodybuilding.
For bodybuilding purpose - it is better to NOT hang. Because the lats are already quite fully stretched even at the lower middle position. Any lower, and you will need to "shrug up" = move your ribcage up. Thus stretching other muscles also. Besides, stretching the muscles makes it easier to "bounce back" up using the stored elastic energy in the muscles and tendons.

Ah, ok. Thanks for the confirmation. I was going as low as possible from where I can up come slowly, without bouncing. So what I am doing is as good as a full chinup. I hate to bounce.

Regards to why it matters, every time I put up a video of some workout, it leads to all kind of critique of form and perfection.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpha1

Yeah, everyone has a different distribution of fat. It is tought to aim for washboard abs when the body's tendency is to store maximum fat on midsection.

Yup. this is why I don't buy the popular goal for washboard abs. I do have slight gut, but it is the same gut where I can support a 80-90Kgs guy. The strongest person in my family is my maternal uncle at 73, he has a much bigger gut. He works in the field for 8 hours a day, almost everyday. Not because he has to, but want to, that is his hobby. He has been doing it since the age of 8. His grip strength and conditioning, thanks to 60+ years of field work is almost superhuman.

Check his gut and physique, he can do this for 8 hours/day even under harsh sun. None of our measurements and perception of health will apply here. He pops no tablets either at his age.

It depends on what your goals are. Body fat numbers are helpful if you want to get rid of your paunch and/or love handles. These numbers tell you whether you are moving towards your goal or not. Washboard abs or flat tummy as a goal is very different from the goal of letting a 90-100 kg man stand on your belly, or being able to work the field for 8 hours a day. These can't be compared but that does not lessen the importance of any of them. And they all require plenty of hard work and dedication.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpha1

Honestly speaking, if keeping bodyfat low is not an aim in itself one should only be worries about internal measurements like blood pressure, blood glucose, insulin levels, cholestrol etc

Having 10% body fat does not determine whether one is healthy.
Running 50 km with 40 kg backpack also doesn't determine whether one is healthy.

It appears to be urban legend.
Two words: Hindu squat.

Thanks for the neat explanation about raised squats.

The internal measurements give you a good state of where your health is at that point in time. But we don't get these done frequently enough to alter our lifestyles or make changes as our metabolism slows down with age. Most of us get this done annually, if at all, which I don't think is often enough.

By the way, it is near impossible to have 10% body fat without having a healthy and active lifestyle for a normal human being. Forget 10%, even 15% body fat would be a testimony to that person's clean lifestyle. Of course. assuming there is no steroid use.

Reg squats:
Guys my $.02 bit - no, "raised heels when squatting is a bad thing" is NOT an urban myth, neither have I come across a well established fitness professional recommend it. All the fitness gurus including Mark Rippetoe (of "Starting Strength") talk about this. Hindu squats are not the same as bad form on regular squats. Hindu squats are a very specific type of squat which if I understand correctly is done more as a bodyweight squat, or cardio even. I would advise against doing regular squats with raised heels, if you are lifting 1x-1.5x of your bodyweight or more (which you should!) on a barbell.

I would suggest reading Starting Strength or watching Mark Rippetoe's video on squats. Scott Herman and Omar Isuf have some great videos too.

Reg knees popping - my knees pop always in my first one or two reps, but I understand that's just nitrogen buildup. But if they continue to pop on every rep after that, I would be concerned and see a doctor.

For a long time I was making the mistake of bending over too much forward when doing squats. Thumb rule, try to have the bar end over your mid foot (not front of the foot) at the bottom. Also, the "knees shouldn't go over the front foot" is a myth, knees will go over the front foot at some point, but as a cue it helped me a lot push my butt outward behind me instead of bending over forward.

Starting the squat by pushing my butt behind me (instead of initiating it with a bend-forward action) helped me a lot and after that I don't feel knee pain anymore.

Make sure your knees follow the direction of your foot, not cave in forward. Especially when rising from the squat. If needed, deload. Its very tempting to increase the weights and have the knees cave in slightly but that doesn't help.

Hope this helps.

Reg health vs aesthetics:
Well, this IS a bodybuilding tread . Bodybuilding is mostly an aesthetics thing as far as I understand. Health is a different thing. I agree you can have an unhealthy bodybuilder (as many of them are, in fact! Many of them even smoke weed and stuff) and a healthy non-bodybuilder too. But having said that, I don't think a high fat percentage is ever a good thing. So I would consider lowering fat percentage, and I wouldn't even call that "bodybuilding".

My own aim is to get a fairly flat stomach, I don't need to see abs. I'm not that young anymore . If I can look OK in a t-shirt I'll be happy. Arms that don't look like stick-man arms would be nice too. Once I achieve that (because shameless vanity), I'll focus more on health-oriented goals and endurance.

if you are lifting 1x-1.5x of your bodyweight or more (which you should!) on a barbell.

If your aim is aesthetics, more squat weight doesn't translate that well to more muscular legs. Unless your legs torso structure allows you to keep your upper body nearly vertical.

Olympics weightlifter use weightlifting shoes. Weightlifting shoes have a small block under the heel to raise it. And the reason why it is done is because it keeps the body more vertical helping in the snatch and clean lifts.

Most weightlifter use the same weightlifting shoes while squatting.
And most weightlifters use front squat in addition which should ideally destroy their knees - if we go according to Mark Rippetoe, because front squatting on raised heels mimics the movement of hindu squat. Try it without weights, if you don't agree.

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Starting the squat by pushing my butt behind me (instead of initiating it with a bend-forward action) helped me a lot and after that I don't feel knee pain anymore.

If you keep increasing the loads while following the above modus operandi, very soon you may be doing good mornings instead of squats!

Greetings fellow fitness buddies, I've made my humble return to a basic fitness regime with some free hand exercises and can now easily do 20 reps of something which I could barely manage 3 a couple of weeks ago. My legs and arms are working like an old engine with a fresh oil change, lol. But I really need to lose the fat around my waist. Please suggest some tried and tested ways to lose some fat around my waist. I'm 5'7 and around 68kg.

Most weightlifter use the same weightlifting shoes while squatting.
And most weightlifters use front squat in addition which should ideally destroy their knees - if we go according to Mark Rippetoe, because front squatting on raised heels mimics the movement of hindu squat. Try it without weights, if you don't agree.

Just to illustrate what I said since most will not be able to understand:
An athlete demonstrating the bottom position of front squat:

Another athlete showing slight variation in her bottom position:

And here is the "hindu squat":

So do we see much difference in the knee angle in all three cases?

Now here is "someone" using an elevated heel for his squat:
Any difference in the knee angle? (Actually it is less acute than the others above!)

I started at around 87 kilos 3 weeks ago, am currently 84. I feel good, am not at all fatigued (quite the opposite) and follow the intermittent fasting pattern of eating. Visually, there is some change but nothing drastic. I also plan to throw in one 24 hour fast day every week or 10 days (Tried this today post yesterday's 3000 calorie binge, it was an absolute breeze. No fatigue, light headedness etc)

Thanks in advance and apologies for the long post. Look forward to hearing from you on what you think of my routine and diet (apart from the carbs that I know I need to cut down on) vis a vis the goals I am trying to achieve